St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-05-19
LAKE CHAMPLAIN's SEA SERPENT.
sEAdIrondack" Murray Tells How 1t APP
peared and Gives 1t n Name.

sfAdIrondack" Murray Tells How 1t APP
peared and Gives 1t n Name.
The Burlington Free Press came out
Saturday with a decidedly sensational
announcement of the appearance of
the sea serpent, closing with the state
ment that w. III. H. Murray watched
the phenomenon with a field glass and
solved the mystery beyond the chance
of doubt. MIR. Murray's story is very
readable one. The monster was seen
by him under specially favorable con-
ditions. After enumerating some of
the awful things he has seen, Mr.. Muir
ray says:
But am free to say that l never
saw on land or sea an appearance
more startling than | saw in Burling-
ton bay in front of my house last Fri
day morning. The appearance has
been many times described with fair
degree of accuracy. In length he
seemed at least 100 feet, longer than a
canal boat would at that distance. His
color was at times of slaty brown, at
others he seemed to be glistening
white like the scales of shad. His
motion was undulatOry and kind of
quivering through his whole length
characterized him. He moved with
astonishing rapidity toward the north,
and when he was showing the full
length of his appearance he sank from
sight. This is a plain account of the
sea serpent as | saw it. The deceit
was perfect. The coolest observer,
the most skeptical would have been
perfectly convinced that his eyes had
beheld a marine monster.
Selling his field glass and adjusting
the lenses to nicely so that "a lady's
hand at the required range would show
its fingers plainly" he says:
The first thought of incredulity as |
stood gazing at it before l took my
glass arose from the fact of the exceed
ing rapidity with which it was moving.
Nobody | said to myself could ever
move through the water as fast as that
thing is going. | had scarcely reached
the verandah again when the cry ran
along the street. "There he is there
he is again I" And sure enough there
was the serpent once more, white and
sheeny, moving with immense rapid
ty with the same peculiar Migratory
motion. l brought my glass to bear
upon him instantly, and the mystery
was that instant solved. The immense
sea monster at once resolved itself into
several hundreds of small birds, of the
plover family, flying in long lire
which swung up and down and to the
right or left as they flew. The under
side of their wings and breasts was
snowy white their backs were slaty
brown. When in the long or short
curvings of their flight they were fly
ing at such an angle as regards the
gazer that the under side of their
wings and breasts were seen the SER
pent long and white appeared. When
they took some slant at another angle,
their backs and upper side of their
wings were turned toward the gazer
the white line faded out and the mon
ster seemed to sink from view. The
quivering and Migratory motions of
the monster were thus explained. The
quick flutter of their little wings, in
long line extended, the gradual swoop
up and down in flight, made the ap-
pearance perfect. The immense speed
of the serpent was accounted for. His
motion being the motion of quick
winged birds clearing the air and not
of an aquatic monster rushing through
the water